THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
If you have ever marvelled at dragonflies zooming over a pond, with their sensational acceleration, handbrake turns, vertical ascents, loop-the-loops and screeching stops, you’re not the only one. Nature’s most ancient and finest aviators – they can even fly backwards – are the inspiration for engineers perfecting the latest generation of tiny drones, which like the insects boast four independently mobile, flapping wings. When it comes to drone technology, it seems that the sky’s the limit (battery life permitting).
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones as they are invariably known outside the industry, are having a moment. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) estimated that 1.5 million were bought as Christmas presents in Britain in 2017, since then sales figures have only gone one way. Then there are the squadrons of commercial drones, used by everyone from photographers to estate agents, roofers, farmers, foresters and the police. When fitted with cameras, infrared sensors, lasers, cargo bays and GPS, drones become very sophisticated pieces of kit.
As with mobile phones though, the rapid spread of a powerful new gadget has thrilled and appalled us in equal measure.
